I found the article turgid and meandering (a fluvial influence? hmmm). The Wikipedia articles summarizes things ever so much more clearly: Cospaia unexpectedly

I found the article turgid and meandering (a fluvial influence? hmmm). The Wikipedia articles summarizes things ever so much more clearly: Cospaia unexpectedly gained independence in 1440 after Pope Eugene IV, embroiled in a struggle with the Council of Basel, made a sale of territory to the Republic of Florence. By error, a small strip of land went unmentioned in the sale treaty and its inhabitants promptly declared themselves independent. An early centre in Italy for tobacco production, Cospaia eventually deteriorated into a mere smugglers' haven which, in 1826, was divided between Tuscany and the Papal States. Each citizen was awarded a silver coin by the church to help convince them to continue farming tobacco. Today, Cospaia is a hamlet (frazione) of the comune of San Giustino in the Province of Perugia. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Cospaia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Cospaia.